MODERN ENTREPRENEUR
death in a car incident that
jolted me into questioning my
life and what my purpose was.
From this moment, I made some
significant changes in my personal
relationships and work-life-balance.
3
Start moving and worry
about the details later
Sometimes you have to just start
moving in a direction, even when
you’re not exactly sure where you’re
going. Although I started making
significant changes, my life purpose
was clarified later when I stumbled
upon an unorthodox speaker. His
passionate talk challenged me to
use my success in business to help
less fortunate and marginalized
people. I walked away energized
and highly motivated. I wrote a list
of the changes I needed to make to
embark on my newfound purposefocused leadership. How was I
going to integrate this into my work
life and personal life?
an overwhelming positive result.
Within hours we had raised enough
money to fund an orphanage in
Thailand partnering with a local
NGO. It showed the team that I
wasn’t all about making money. I
wanted to make a difference in the
world and I led by example.
4
5
Communicate your
purpose and provide
opportunities
Purpose focused leadership needs
to be transparent. When leaders
share their vision with passion,
people will naturally follow. Give
your staff the opportunity to jump
on board and be part of your vision.
A key to leading with purpose is
that it’s inclusive. One day I shared
with staff my desire to be involved
in something significant beyond
our business. From a place of
vulnerability in communicating
my passion, our company birthed
a collaborative philanthropic
venture that would impact many
lives. To my surprise, revealing
my thoughts to the team created
purpose. An ideal scenario is
when a leaders life purpose aligns
with their organisation’s purpose
or their role’s purpose. This is the
‘sweet spot’, where your passions,
strengths and opportunities overlap
– once you find it, it is powerful and
infectious to the people around you.
Find a leadership mentor
or coach and invest time
I found several mentors who
helped me change and grow as a
leader both at work and personally.
I prioritised reading books and
attending seminars in pursuit to
discover my purpose.
Leading with purpose builds
momentum in the business that
impacts all areas from staff
motivation to building a positive
environment. It creates a team
culture and unites staff and is a
magnet for engaging like-minded,
passionate people.
Every leader should know their own
purpose as well as their business’
John Sikkema is an entrepreneur,
philanthropist and author of ‘Enriched
Re-defining Wealth’. He is the Executive
Chairman of Halftime Australia,
Inspiring Leaders to live their life
purpose now. www.halftime.org.au
October 2016
ModernBusiness
13